Title II weapons

A MAC-10 with a silencer. The silencer is treated as a Title II weapon or NFA firearm itself; the firearm to which the silencer is attached maintains its separate legal status as Title I or Title II.

Title II weapons, or NFA firearms (weapons requiring a Title 7 or Title 10 Federal Firearms License as well as a Class III Special Occupation Tax to sell, and an ATF Form 4 with $200 tax stamp to purchase[1]), are certain firearms, explosive munitions, and other devices which are federally regulated in the United States by the National Firearms Act (NFA).[2][3] Any violation of the NFA is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.[4] Per the National Rifle Association's Summary of Gun Control Act of 1968:[5]

A machine gun is a fully automatic firearm. As defined in the NFA, it is "Any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger."[8] Additionally, the frame or receiver of a machine gun, and any combination of parts intended to make a machine gun is legally equivalent to a complete machine gun.

For example, per the ATF, "A Glock conversion switch is a part designed and intended for use in converting a semiautomatic Glock pistol into a machine gun; therefore, it is a “machine gun” as defined in 26 U.S.C. 5845(b)."[9]

The US Military issued kits T17 and T18 to convert the M1 carbine to an M2 capable of fully automatic fire. Each of these kits is legally a "machine gun" in and of itself.[10]

(3) a rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length;

(4) a weapon made from a rifle if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length [...]

A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder and fire one bullet at a time through a rifled barrel.[14] An SBR may or may not retain a shoulder stock after modification.

ATF regards pistols with shoulder stocks as redesigned to be fired from the shoulder. Modern pistols with shoulder stocks and with barrels less than 16 inches (or overall length under 26 inches) are NFA short barrelled rifles. ATF has removed certain stocked handguns (e.g., original Mauser C96 and Luger) from the NFA as collector's items (Curios or Relics List);[15] ATF treats them as pistols under the GCA.[16] Queries on the Curio or Relic status of an NFA firearm may be directed to the ATF FTB.[17]

Any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas, including bombs, grenades, rockets, missiles, mines and similar devices (e.g. grenade launchers, rocket launchers). Parts intended for making such a device are also DDs. Small rockets, with less than 4 ounces of propellant, are exempt.

Most commercial shotguns have a bore diameter greater than 1⁄2 inch, but are exempt due to their "sporting purpose"; however, both the Street Sweeper and USAS-12 shotguns (designed for military or police use) were reclassified as DDs when the ATF determined they were combat shotguns not "generally recognized as particularly suitable for sporting purposes".

Flare launchers are normally exempt as they are signalling devices, not weapons; however, possession of a flare launcher and anti-personnel ammunition for it puts it in the DD category as it is then considered to be a weapon.

The legal term silencer (more technically known as a "suppressor"), defines as "any device for silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a portable firearm, including any combination of parts ... intended for use in assembling or fabricating a firearm silencer."[19] Which would include the possession of one or each baffle of an unassembled silencer as an a separate violation of the NFA.

"Any other weapon" is a "catch-all" category. An AOW as defined as "any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive," other than a handgun with a rifled barrel.[3] This umbrella definition includes many improvised firearms ("zip guns") and disguised firearms. Examples include wallet guns, cane guns, knife guns and pen guns.[20] An AOW can be transferred to non-prohibited persons with a $5 BATF stamp as opposed to the $200 stamp required for machine guns and short barreled rifles.

AOW is a complex and often misunderstood category of NFA firearms. Less obvious examples of AOW devices include:

Short-barreled shotguns manufactured without a shoulder stock (less than or equal to 26" overall length)

They are smooth-bore handguns which fire shot shells, not shotguns, which must be designed to be fired from the shoulder.

Pistols with a second vertical grip

Many pistols feature a rail below the barrel, commonly used to mount a laser or flashlight. Attaching a vertical grip to this rail constitutes the manufacturing of an AOW firearm, as it is "no longer designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand."[21] It is therefore illegal to place an aftermarket vertical foregrip on any pistol without first registering it as an AOW and paying the $200 "making and registering tax". Failure to do so is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.[21] However if the receiver was originally manufactured to accept either a long or short barrel and a removal buttstock and fore grip and it can be assembled either as a rifle or a pistol, according to ATF rule 2011-4 it is not considered an NFA weapon as long as it is only assembled as a pistol without a buttstock or as a rifle with a barrel at least 16 inches long.[22]

Firearms having combination rifle and shotgun barrels, more than 12 inches but less than 18 inches long from which only a single discharge can be made from either barrel without manual reloading

These are designed to be fired from the shoulder. An example is the Marble Game Getter an early 20th-century sporting gun sold before the NFA.[23]

These may potentially be classified as AOWs because they have a large bore and an unrifled barrel. One of the frequently asked questions on the BATF website FAQs is: "How do I obtain a classification from ATF for my "potato gun?"[24] It is not known at present if the BATF has actually classified any potato gun as an AOW. Such a classification would require the manufacturer to either pay the $200 manufacturing tax, surrender the weapon to the BATF, or destroy it.

Antique firearms are excluded from the destructive devices category if they are "not likely to be used as a weapon." [3] They must have been manufactured before 1898 and may not use conventional ammunition:

The term “antique firearm” means any firearm not designed or redesigned for using rim fire or conventional center fire ignition with fixed ammunition and manufactured in or before 1898 (including any matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system or replica thereof, whether actually manufactured before or after the year 1898) and also any firearm using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1898, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.[25]

For example, muzzle loaded matchlock and flintlock muskets with bores larger than .50 inch are not NFA firearms.

The ownership of Title II weapons is heavily regulated at both the State and Federal level, but otherwise perfectly legal.[26] Numerous federal restrictions are imposed on the ownership of NFA firearms, including an extensive background check, a $200 tax on manufacture or transfer of an NFA firearm, and registration with the NFA registry. Generally, for the manufacture of NFA items, ATF Form 5320-1 must be submitted to the ATF. For the transfer of a NFA item (from a person or entity lawfully entitled to transfer it (Class 3 dealer) to yourself, or an entity (Gun Trust or LLC) then the ATF Form 5320-4 must be submitted to the ATF. There is a lower, $5 transfer tax for weapons that fit in the definition of "Any Other Weapon" (AOW). Any violation of the NFA is a felony punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and up to 10 years in prison,[4] and any firearm involved is forfeit.[27]

Of NFA firearms (silencers, machine guns, short barrel rifles, short barrel shotguns, any other weapon (AOW) and destructive devices) machineguns are the most restricted. Since 19 May 1986, no new machineguns can be registered for private ownership. The AOW transfer tax is $5 making them the least restricted, but all other NFA rules apply.

A few states, such as New York and California, have provisions in their state laws that prohibit ownership of Title II weapons and devices. Most states allow legal ownership if the owner has complied with the federal registration and taxation requirements. A few states only allow possession of NFA firearms on the ATF Curios and Relics List, again only if the owner has complied with all federal requirements.

^ ab26 U.S.C.§ 5871. "Any person who violates or fails to comply with any provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $10,000, or be imprisoned not more than ten years, or both."

^26 U.S.C.§ 5845(d). "The term “shotgun” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of projectiles (ball shot) or a single projectile for each pull of the trigger, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire a fixed shotgun shell."

^26 U.S.C.§ 5845(c). "The term “rifle” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire a fixed cartridge."

^18 U.S.C.§ 921(a)(24). "The terms “firearm silencer” and “firearm muffler” mean any device for silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a portable firearm, including any combination of parts, designed or redesigned, and intended for use in assembling or fabricating a firearm silencer or firearm muffler, and any part intended only for use in such assembly or fabrication."

Any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive;

A pistol or revolver having a barrel with a smooth bore designed or redesigned to fire a fixed shotgun shell;

Weapons with combination shotgun and rifle barrels 12 inches or more, less than 18 inches in length, from which only a single discharge can be made from either barrel without manual reloading; and

Any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire.

Such term shall not include a pistol or a revolver having a rifled bore, or rifled bores, or weapons designed, made, or intended to be fired from the shoulder and not capable of firing fixed ammunition.

^ ab"Firearms Technology FAQ". www.atf.gov. ATF. Retrieved 2011-03-29. ATF has long held that by installing a vertical fore grip on a handgun, the handgun is no longer designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand. Therefore, if individuals install a vertical fore grip on a handgun, they are “making” a firearm requiring registration with ATF’s NFA Branch. Making an unregistered “AOW” is punishable by a fine and 10 years’ imprisonment. Additionally, possession of an unregistered “AOW” is also punishable by fine and 10 years’ imprisonment.